Lonoke County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Lonoke County: 18.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 15, 2011Tornado$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado destroyed 51 large steel power transmission towers. These towers carried 500 kilovolt transmission lines. For the most part, the towers fell into open farm fields, but one fell into a pond on a fish farm. The power cables that fell with the towers blocked a number of roads, including Arkansas Highway 31. Power poles, power lines, and trees were blown down as well.

2. Jun 30, 2009Hail$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The devastating hailstorm moved eastward out of Pulaski County, and continued east across all of Lonoke County. The hail swath about 10 miles wide. The hail ranged in size from the size of nickels (0.88 inch) to the size of baseballs (2.75 inches). Communities affected included South Bend, Parnell, Furlow, Fairview, Brownsville, Lonoke, and Carlisle. ||The largest hail fell a few miles north and northeast of Lonoke, where much of the hail was golf ball size (1.75 inches) to baseball size (2.75 inches). The hailstones ruined roofs, damaged siding on houses, broke windows in houses, broke car windshields, killed birds perched in trees, and destroyed gardens and crops. The worst…

3. Apr 30, 2010Tornado$4.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado exited Pulaski County south-southeast of Jacksonville and entered Lonoke County north of Kerr. In Lonoke County, the tornado affected the South Bend and Furlow communities, then continued to the northeast, passing south of Cabot and east of Ward. A Red Cross survey indicated: 20 houses and 14 mobile homes destroyed, 27 houses and 6 mobile homes with major damage, 50 houses and 22 mobile homes with minor damage, and 15 houses and 14 mobile homes affected. In addition, numerous trees and power lines were blown down. The tornado exited Lonoke County north-northeast of Jacksons Store and entered White County southeast of Beebe.

4. Mar 31, 2023Tornado$4.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado continued from Pulaski County into Lonoke County|within Holland Bottoms State Wildlife Area west of Kerr Station Road. Many trees|were snapped or uprooted in this wildlife area. ||The tornado exited the wildlife area into the Parnell community, with more|roofs damaged and some garages destroyed along Oliver Lane. The|tornado crossed Arkansas Highway 89 near Russell Road, destroying a|mobile home. The tornado continued into some more rural areas of|southeast Cabot, with some damage to a few homes and several more|trees uprooted or snapped. The tornado finally lifted between|Arkansas Highway 321 and Campground Road west of Laser Lane. This tornado was rated an EF2 with…

5. May 2, 2008Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado exited Pulaski County, east of Wrightsville, and entered Lonoke County, just northwest of Keo. Two houses and two farm shops near Keo had roof damage. In addition, two houses north of Keo were destroyed. Trees, power poles, and grain bins were blown down, and there was damage at a fish farm. Two farm shops in Pettus were damaged. Also, five large, steel, electrical transmission towers were partially to totally destroyed.

6. Dec 25, 2012Winter Storm, Lonoke$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowfall reports in Lonoke County included: 12 inches at Austin (Air Force weather forecaster), 10 inches at Cabot (cooperative observer), 8 inches at Lonoke (public report), 7 inches at Cabot (HAM radio and meteorologist reports), and 5 inches at Keo (cooperative observer).

7. Dec 24, 2009Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding, which developed early on the morning of the 24th, became widespread areal flooding later in the morning on the 24th and continued for several days. Arkansas Highway 89 was closed near Furlow. Fire departments used boats to rescue five residents on Grayhawk Circle, where water was about 5 feet deep on Christmas Eve morning. Along Arkansas Highway 236 West, water was 4 to 5 feet deep on the road and even deeper in the houses. The South Bend Fire Department responded to 38 calls for rescues from vehicles trapped in high water, and assisted six families who needed to leave flooded homes. One motorist suffered hypothermia before he was rescued from his car. Problem…

8. Apr 3, 2008Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado began southwest of Cabot and was most intense as it traveled through industrial and business areas on the west side of the railroad tracks in Cabot. Business structures destroyed included a self-storage warehouse and two storage buildings. A truck repair building was badly damaged, and two large warehouses also suffered damage. Several vehicles on a used-car lot were damaged when a large canopy fell. A canopy was damaged at a gas station, and there was roof damage to several businesses. To the east of the railroad tracks, numerous houses sustained roof damage, both in the middle of Cabot and on northeast through the Shiloh subdivision. A few houses and vehicles were…

9. May 1, 2011Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread areal flooding continued from April into May. Parts of Arkansas Highways 13, 236, and 381 as well as U.S. Highway 70 were closed due to flooding. On the morning of the 1st, two sections of U.S. Highway 67/167 Southbound were closed due to flooding, and one section of the highway was closed Northbound. On the 2nd, Arkansas Highway 89 was closed due to high water, and fast-flowing water more than a foot deep was over Kerr Station Rd. On the 3rd, a 55 year-old man drowned when he drove around barricades into flood waters several feet deep on Arkansas Highway 236 northeast of Furlow. His body was not recovered until the 6th.

10. Dec 24, 2009Flash Flood$2.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Widespread heavy rain resulted in the development of flash flooding early on the morning of the 24th. Water rescues were necessary in Cabot.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

113°FJul 31, 1986

All-time low

−6°FFeb 16, 2021

Warmest night

84°F3 times, most recently Jul 30, 1998

Coldest day

10°F2 times, most recently Dec 24, 1983

Wettest day

7.95 inSep 3, 2008

Snowiest day

11.9 inJan 6, 1988

Hottest year

1999mean 67.4°F

Coldest year

1979mean 58.9°F

Wettest year

195777.76 in

Driest year

199935.27 in

Snowiest season

25.7 in1959-60

Station Little Rock AFB (USW00003930), 311 ft elevation, 10.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1956 to October 26, 2026; 87.3% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00003930.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.